Sutton decides to return to ASU

Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton announced Tuesday that he will return for his senior season, an incredible boost for the Sun Devils.

“It’s been a hard decision, it’s been a long decision, but my decision is that I’m going to stay and play another year,” Sutton said.

Sutton, a consensus All-American, ranked among the nation’s leaders in quarterback sacks and tackles for loss. Despite missing nearly two games with a knee injury, he finished with 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. For his efforts, he was the Pac-12′s Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year.

Sutton had until Jan. 15 to declare for the NFL draft, but he said he made up his mind this week. Most draft experts projected Sutton to go in the late-second or early-third round in what’s expected to be a deep draft for defensive tackles. Sutton’s father, Mickey, said the feedback his son got from the NFL’s draft advisory board was “all over the place,” projecting Sutton to go anywhere from the third to fifth rounds.

“To tell you the truth, there were a lot of pros and cons,” Sutton said. ”It just wasn’t one thing, but some of the main (reasons were) coming back and winning a championship, doing it for my teammates and getting my degree.”

Coach Todd Graham said Sutton’s decision to return was his “biggest recruit yet.” With him, ASU went 8-5 this season, finishing first nationally in tackles for loss and second in sacks.

“I’m telling you, the guy can get a whole lot better,” Graham said. ”We’ve just been training him for a year. He can get stronger, he can get faster. He’s been (in our system) for just a short time. Toward the end of the season, I would talk to him about, ‘Hey, how’s this call? How’s that call?’ And he started getting to where he could tell me, ‘We need to move this way.’ .. He’s very smart. He’s very explosive. And I do think our guys feed off him, the intensity that he has. …

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